


I Live So I Can Die With You

by TragicLove



Category: Hanson (Band)
Genre: Domestic Bliss, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-22
Updated: 2018-07-22
Packaged: 2019-06-14 17:09:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15393474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TragicLove/pseuds/TragicLove
Summary: Sequel toThe Things We Didn't Know We NeededThis is pure fluff. A picture of what Zac and Natalie's life together is like years after the events in The Things We Didn't Know We Needed.





	I Live So I Can Die With You

**Author's Note:**

> Title comes from the Beyonce song Die With You

It was quiet outside. It was late and Zac was the only one in his house awake, a position he found himself in often. 

Days in Zac and Natalie’s home tended to be hectic and rushed. That was kind of par for the course when your little melded family included nine kids, which is about six more than any reasonable human being would ever want living under one roof, but Zac loved it. There was always activity, always a pair of sticky little hands reaching for a hug, chocolate covered mouths peppering kisses all over your cheeks. The fridge was covered in crayon drawings that would never be considered fine art, the furniture mostly broken in one way or another, nothing exactly perfect in between those four walls. Except for them. They were perfect.

Tonight, as Zac sat on the porch, a glass of his wife’s homemade sweet tea resting between his knees, he found himself doing what he’d found himself doing often over the past four years, appreciating his life. 

Sure, he’d lost a lot. Nearly everything he’d ever had, really. But, what he’d gained, he gained in spades. They’d moved away from Tulsa, buying a big house that looked like a log cabin from a story book, their closest neighbors at least a mile away on either side. Somehow, the courts had decided that the kids best place for primary placement was with them. Zac and Natalie were sure that Taylor’s devolvement into drug use and Kate’s perpetually broken state had a lot to do with that. A pang of sadness shot through Zac’s chest whenever he thought about what had become of the people he once loved, still did, really. But, he knew that he had to live his life for him now, he’d spent all of his years living it for everyone else, it was his turn to be happy. 

Zac was looking up at the stars, wondering if they looked exactly the same back home in Tulsa, a lifetime and a thousand miles away, when he heard his youngest daughter call for him from the door.

He turned and saw her standing there, her pink nightgown falling to her knees, long brown hair mussed up from her bed. He placed his iced tea on the table next to him and patted his lap.

“What’re you doing, Georgie?” He smiled at her, her nickname falling from his lips easily. 

“Can’t sleep, Daddy,” Georgia padded slowly to him, climbing into his lap. “Can you tell me the story?”

“Aren’t you sick of this story?” He smiled, knowing exactly what story she wanted to hear. It was the same one she always wanted to hear, every time he found her like this, late nights underneath the stars, her unable to sleep, him unable to deny her anything. 

“No,” she giggled, nuzzling into him, her little fingers wrapping around his hand. “I want to hear the story, Daddy. Tell me the story of how you and Mommy fell in love.”

He smiled down at his daughter, laying a quick kiss on her head.

“Okay,” he smoothed her hair down, wrapping his arms around her tiny body. 

“Once upon a time, there was a very sad girl, and an even sadder boy.”

“Why were they sad, Daddy?” Georgia turned her head up to look at him.

“Because, they weren’t living their best lives, baby,” he smiled. “But then, they found each other, and everything seemed to start to fall into place. The sad girl was the prettiest princess that the boy had ever seen.”

“Prettier than me?” Georgia made a face and Zac laughed quietly.

“Not even close.”

“Good, keep going,” she laid her head back on his chest, her hair tickling his nose. 

“The boy and the girl tried not to fall in love, but eventually it just happened. And then, they were very surprised by the arrival of the newest prettiest princess in the land, their little baby daughter.”

Georgia giggled and said that was her favorite part.

“So the boy and the girl decided that they would spend the rest of their lives together, loving each other and loving their baby daughter. Unfortunately, there were a lot of monsters and bad guys in their land, who wanted to do whatever they could to stop them from being in love. So the princess and the boy ran away from that no good land and they found their own land where their little- okay, big- family could live in happiness and love one another every single day.”

“And did they live happily ever after, Daddy?”

“We don’t know yet, baby. The story is still writing itself, but it all looks good from where I’m sitting. I’d say they will definitely live happily ever after.”

“I love that story, Daddy.”

“Me too, Georgie. Me too.”

He tightened his grip on her just a little bit, and rocked her in his chair until he felt her breathing get heavier. He placed another kiss to her head and considered getting up, putting her to bed, but he liked moments like this. Sitting in the quiet, relishing the time he had with his little ones while they were still little. He knew all too well that life had a funny way of sneaking up on you, and he wanted to collect as many precious moments as he could, keep them in his pocket for days when he might need to look back on them. 

“What a picture,” he heard Natalie’s soft, southern drawl from the doorway. She was leaning against the door jamb, her arms crossed lightly across her nightgown clad chest, a smile on her face.

“Like it?” He smiled at his wife.

“Like it?” She walked towards him, leaning down to lay a small kiss on his lips, before laying another on Georgia’s forehead. “I love it.”

 

They settled Georgia back in her bed, pulling the covers up over her and each kissing her one more time. On their way to their own bedroom they poked their heads in each of the other kids rooms, making sure they were safely tucked in for the night. It was exhausting, sometimes, having what could be a small armies amount of children, but Zac was sure that with Natalie by his side, he could get through literally any trouble life would ever throw his way.

They settled down in bed, Natalie’s head on Zac’s shoulder, his arm wrapped tightly around her. She turned her head up to look at him and smiled, even now she was the prettiest girl he’d ever seen.

“Heard from Tay lately?” She whispered. He shook his head.

“Not in weeks. Seems rehab has him pretty busy. Kate?”

“Maybe two weeks ago.”

“She okay?”

“Best she’s been,” Natalie shrugged. 

It had been hard, keeping contact with the two of them through all of the things that had changed for the group. But, in the end, Taylor was still Zac’s big brother, his best friend, and Kate was still, and always would be, Natalie’s best friend since childhood. They didn’t know how to turn their backs on either of them, and they weren’t sure that even if they did, they’d want to. 

“You know,” he smiled into her hair, running his hand over her back. “You’re the best mistake I’ve ever made.”

She turned her head up again and smiled at him.

“Ditto, babe.”

“Would you change it, any of it?” He asked as he turned her, leaning over her and kissing her softly.

As he covered her small body with his own, she wrapped her arms around his neck, her smile widening, her eyes shining.

“No.”

“Me either,” he slid his hand up her thigh and moved her panties to the side, running a finger lightly over her, smiling at how wet she already was. 

She sighed, her breath brushing across his face and her hands were on his pants, pushing them down. He helped her finish the job, his body covering hers again.

As he slid into her, her little moan floating into his ear as if it were his favorite song, he was reminded again how lucky he’d been.

“I love you,” she breathed into his ear, her legs tightening around him.

“Love you too,” he smiled, pulling her face towards his and kissing her, long and hard and desperately. Like he’d drown without her lips against his. 

He knew he’d never get tired of her being all around him, being the first face he saw in the morning, and the last he saw before he fell asleep. He’d wasted enough years not living wrapped up with her and he’d rather die than waste another single minute where she wasn’t close enough to touch, to kiss, to lay his eyes on and appreciate how amazingly lucky he really was. He knew that he could stay here forever with her, in their log cabin, kids all around them, and die the happiest man that had ever walked the earth.

And that’s just what he intended to do.


End file.
